The poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation showed 60
percent of Russian citizens would not object to a reintroduction
of the death penalty. A year ago this figure was 66 percent and
in 2001 it peaked at 80 percent.

Seventy percent of responders believe the death penalty should be
used to punish sexual crimes against minors. Sixty percent viewed
it the right punishment for murder, and 47 percent supported it
as punishment for rape. All of them said the move would help to
curb the crime rate and save government funds allocated for
prisoners serving long sentences for grave crimes.

Forty percent of responders said the country should not have
introduced the moratorium on the death penalty in 1996.

The number who strongly opposed the return of capital punishment
was 22 percent – up from 19 percent in 2014.

The moratorium on capital punishment was introduced in 1996 in
connection with Russia’s entry into the Council of Europe. The
last execution in the Russian Federation took place on September
2, 1996.

Politicians and officials have raised the issue of re-introducing
the death penalty from time to time usually for populist reasons.
In the latest initiative, MP Frants Klintsevich of the
conservative United Russia party suggested executing those
convicted of corruption, pedophilia and war crimes. Lawmakers
from the nationalist LDPR party had previously urged the death
penalty for corrupt officials who aid terrorists.